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11 March 2015

The schedule of press conferences at the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), which includes presentations on ESA's Rosetta Mission and on Iceland's Bárðarbunga volcanic eruption, is now available. The meeting, taking place on 12–17 April in Vienna, attracts over 12,000 scientists and provides an opportunity for journalists to hear about the latest research in the Earth and space sciences and to talk to scientists from all over the world. This year's programme features debates on water security and on negotiating climate policy. Journalists interested in attending should register online by Friday.

Contents

Press conference schedule

Press conferences at the EGU General Assembly will be held at the Press Centre located on the Yellow Level (Ground Floor) of the Austria Center Vienna. All times are CEST (local time in Vienna).

LATESTRESULTSFROMTHEESAROSETTAMISSION
Date, time TBA

Rosetta, a mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) launched in 2004, is the first spacecraft to orbit around a comet and deploy a lander on its surface. The spacecraft arrived at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August 2014 and the lander, Philae, has been on the comet’s surface since November. In this press conference, the Rosetta science team will provide an update on the mission and present its latest results.

NASA's Dawn Mission recently orbited the asteroid Vesta, mapping its surface in detail and revealing a diversity of geologic features. Dawn is now orbiting Ceres, a dwarf planet and the largest object in the asteroid belt, which – unlike Vesta – is believed to contain large amounts of ice. The spacecraft has been orbiting and studying the dwarf planet since early March, looking for clues about how the two different objects, and the Solar System, formed. In this media event, the panel will present the latest data and images from the mission.

How can we reduce our carbon emissions while still ensuring energy security? One of the solutions is switching to renewable sources of energy. Researchers in Switzerland are looking into the potential for deserts to supply reliable renewable energy, while a team in the US is working on using carbon dioxide sequestered into a geothermal reservoir to produce electricity. Another way to reduce emissions is to use carbon capture and storage systems to sequester carbon dioxide that is produced in electricity generation from fossil fuels. Researchers have been looking into the issues that arise from storing carbon dioxide underground in the long term. Who owns the pore space in the rocks where captured CO2 is stored, and who could be liable if something goes wrong? How can underground microbial life affect storage? The panel will present new findings and discuss these and other questions.

The connection between water and social media, smartphones, GPS and popular music may seem unlikely, but the results presented at this press conference suggest otherwise. Researchers in the Netherlands are using tweets to produce real-time flood maps, a Swiss team has developed a smartphone app to measure river floods, and scientists in the US are using GPS data to measure hydrological quantities from sea level to soil moisture. Meanwhile in the UK, a team is looking into how rain, sun and other weather phenomena have inspired pop music. Come hear them talk about their findings at this media briefing.

IMPACTS OF GEOENGINEERING ON LAND, OCEANSANDTHEATMOSPHERE
Date, time TBA

In the past few years, geoengineering – the deliberate manipulation of the Earth's environment – has been hailed as a quick fix for climate change. This press conference will look into the feasibility of using geoengineering techniques, from thinning clouds and reflecting sunlight to removing carbon from the atmosphere, and its side effects. How can geoengineering impact the oceans, the water cycle or land environments? Can it be seen as a viable solution to climate change? The panel will present new research findings and answer these and other questions.

The Bárðarbunga-Holuhraun volcanic eruption started in August 2014 and ended in February, though there are still signs of movement in the caldera. It was a remarkable eruption, not only because scientists have monitored every step of it, but also because of the sheer amount of gas and lava the volcano has spewed out. The lava flow is the biggest in Iceland for over 200 years, while sulfur dioxide and other gases, emitted by the volcano in record amounts, have impacted air pollution across Iceland and have travelled as far as Ireland and Norway. In this press conference the panel will present new results about this eruption, looking into its effects and remarkable characteristics.

Global warming is altering the Earth's water cycle, with more water evaporating to the atmosphere as temperatures increase. How will different levels of warming affect flood risk and drought occurrence? How will climate change affect the availability of water resources in Europe? And is there a more evident human footprint, namely air pollution, in changing rainfall patterns? Researchers are using state-of-the-art climate models to find out the answers to these questions and will present their results at this press conference.

Participants:Lorenzo Alfieri
Researcher, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, ItalyWouter Greuell
Researcher, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Earth System Sciences, Wageningen, The NetherlandsYusuke Satoh
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna, AustriaDebbie Polson
Research Associate, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Over the past few decades, the Arctic region has warmed more than any other on Earth. The Greenland Ice Sheet is losing mass faster than ever before, and is expected to keep melting with consequences for global sea-level rise and ocean circulation. In this media briefing, researchers present new results on the factors that influence the Greenland Ice Sheet's rapid and profound changes – from snow darkening and glacial lakes to clouds – at present and in the years to come.

Participants:Kristof Van Tricht
PhD Student, KU Leuven – University of Leuven Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, BelgiumAmber Leeson
Research Fellow, Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, University of Leeds, United KingdomMarco Tedesco
Associate Professor, Earth & Atmospheric Science Department, The City College of New York, USA

Note that the list above is subject to change. Please check the press conference page, or the information panels at the Vienna Press Centre, for the most up-to-date information.

Meeting programme

All sessions (over 800) and abstracts (over 14,500) are now available online and fully searchable. You can access the programme on the EGU 2015 website.

The programme is searchable by name of a scientist, keywords (e.g.: Greenland, duck), session topic (e.g.: Natural Hazards, Atmospheric Sciences), and other parameters. Further, you can select single contributions or complete sessions from the meeting programme to generate your personal programme.

Media registration

Members of the media and public information officers are invited to register for the meeting online, free of charge. Media registration gives access to the Press Centre, interview rooms and other meeting rooms, and includes a public transportation ticket for Vienna and the programme book. At the Press Centre, media participants have access to high-speed Internet (LAN and wireless LAN), as well as breakfast, lunch, coffee and refreshments, all available free of charge. Food options will be more varied this year, including salads, fresh fruit, sweets and savoury snacks.

The online list of journalist and public information officers who have registered already is available online.

Online pre-registration is open until this Friday, 13 March. The advance registration assures that your badge will be waiting for you on your arrival to the conference venue, the Austria Center Vienna. You may also register on-site during the meeting.

More information

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002. The EGU has a current portfolio of 16 diverse scientific journals, which use an innovative open access format, and organises a number of topical meetings, and education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting over 12,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate, energy, and resources. The EGU 2015 General Assembly is taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 12 to 17 April 2015. For information regarding the press centre at the meeting and media registration, please check http://media.egu.eu.

If you wish to receive our press releases via email, please use the press release subscription form at http://www.egu.eu/news/subscribe/. Subscribed journalists and other members of the media receive EGU press releases under embargo (if applicable) 24 hours in advance of public dissemination.

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About EGU

EGU, the European Geosciences Union, is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It was established in September 2002 as a merger of the European Geophysical Society (EGS) and the European Union of Geosciences (EUG), and has headquarters in Munich, Germany.

Header image: View from the entrance to the Austria Center Vienna during the EGU General Assembly (Credit: Bárbara Ferreira)